Mind of a Murderer
by MissdaVinci77
Summary: Grissom and his team need help to catch a serial killer and who do they call? The BAU of course. I own neither CSI nor Criminal Minds. Rated T for violence. REVIEW PLEASE!
1. Chapter 1

_Las Vegas_

Grissom sat in his office, feeling as miserable as he could ever remember. This was the sixth body found and they were all linked. He knew they had a serial killer on their hands, and they were no closer to finding it than they were when the first body showed up.

The murders were brutal. Young women between the ages of 17 to 24 had been abducted and were missing for about two weeks before they showed up in the desert, eyeless. They hadn't had a case like this since the Miniature Killer a few years back, and that didn't exactly end well.

Barely any trace evidence was found at the crime scene, since it was the desert. No footprints, no car tracks, only a couple hairs that weren't in the system.

Grissom hated asking for help from outside sources, but Catherine talked him into making the call. He just…hadn't gotten to it yet.

It's not that he didn't believe in profiling. He just didn't find it all too accurate. He liked hard DNA evidence that one could visibly see. Profiling just seemed so much like…guesswork.

Grissom stared at the card in his hand:

Jason Gideon

BAU unit Quantico

FBI

It followed with a phone number that Grissom had accidently memorized since they found the third body.

Grissom frowned, it was now or never.

He dialed and heard it ring a few times before he heard Jason on the other line saying, "Jason Gideon BAU."

"Agent Gideon, it's Gill Grissom from LVPD."

"Grissom," said Jason, obviously a little surprised. "How have you been?"

"Better. We have a serial killer on our hands."

There was a pause. "Are you positive?"

"Absolutely."

"Fax us the reports and we'll have it looked at. How many victims?"

"Six."

Jason sighed. "Well, he has been busy hasn't he?"

"It would seem like it."

Jason laughed quietly. "You know, I wouldn't have expected you to call us."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures I suppose," said Grissom, a little annoyed.

"Well, as I said, we'll have the case reviewed, but I don't think you'll have to worry. I don't think we have a case as dangerous as this. Seems like your guy kills fast."

"Thank you, Agent. I appreciate it." And Grissom did. Whether he believed in it or not, he would admit that the team needed help, even if Sara though otherwise…

"I'll call you when I find out."

The two hung up. Grissom closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had met Jason Gideon at a seminar he had in Vegas a few years ago. He had brought along some kid with him who looked like he still belonged in high school. Turned out he had three PhD's. Imagine that…

Anyway, Grissom had not been convinced by the idea of profiling and he and Gideon had had a long discussion on DNA evidence vs. profiles. The whole time, the kid had watched them, arms crossed, shifting nervously from foot to foot. He obviously had a high opinion of Gideon.

The conversation ended and Jason had given Grissom his card, "Just in case," he said, before leaving with the shy kid following behind him.

Like he would ever use this, Grissom had once thought. However, he never got rid of the card.

Who knew? One day it might be helpful. And that day was now.

….

_Author's Note:_

_I know it's a bit slow, but I always wanted to do a CSI Criminal Minds crossover, so here it is!_

_Pretty please please please please review and I will love you for all eternity._

_Next chapter will be better; the CSI team meets the BAU team._

_The story will have a lot of Reid in it, for he is my minor obsession. (major, actually)_

_Please enjoy and review!_

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey Grissom!" Greg Sanders called after his boss. "Is it true you're bringing in the big shots?"

Grissom winced in annoyance. He sighed, "Did you the results in from the rape kit?"

"Oh, come on! You don't need to keep anything from Greg," said Greg, speaking in third person. "Everyone needs help once in a while." Greg saw his boss opening his mouth to make an angry retort so he interrupted him. "Yes I got the results and sadly they were positive. Not in the system, however. Do we have anything yet? Suspects?"

"Not yet, that's why we're bringing the 'big shots' in as you so wisely put it," said Grissom, walking away from his open-mouthed team member.

"Seriously? When do they get here, Griss?" he called out.

"There are coming in as we speak."

…..

The CSI team waited in the lobby for the BAU team. Catherine was grinning, glad Grissom had finally swallowed his pride and allowed the FBI to get involved. Nick and Greg were joking around together, picturing what the stiffs would look like.

"I'm tellin' you Sanders, picture Men in Black. I can see it already," laughed Nick. He didn't know what to think of the situation, but he did admit that they needed help and if these profilers were all the media cracked them up to be, then it sounded like a good plan.

"Have you ever seen FBI guys or worked with them, for that matter?" asked Greg, still being relatively new to the team as he was the youngest member.

"Not really seen them too much, and no I haven't worked with them yet, thank God," joked Nick, laughing along with Greg.

Sara was next to Grissom. She didn't believe in all of this "profiling" nonsense. The team had been on the case for months, and these guys thought that they could just march on in and solve it? Yeah, right.

Then, the door opened and in walked the BAU team. It was more or less like the CSI team expected, with a few exceptions.

A petite blonde woman who was very pretty walked right up to Grissom and held her hand out. "Hello, I'm Jennifer Jareu, but you can call me JJ. We spoke on the phone, correct?"

Grissom had indeed spoken to her. Gideon was apparently updating the team on their new case and Jennifer had called him herself.

"Yes, we did. I'm Gill Grissom."

"Nice to meet you."

Nick's Men in Black image walked up to Grissom, face set seriously, looking as if his face hadn't seen a smile since his childhood years. "I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner."

Catherine smirked at him and raised her eyebrows. Well, this was different.

Greg incognito-ly handed Nick a twenty dollar bill as Nick had an evil grin on his face.

Sara tried to contain her scoff.

"This is Agent Prentiss," Hotch introduced as Prentiss came forward to shake Grissom's hand. She was a pretty woman as well, buy different from JJ. She was poised and professional, with dark hair and a pleasant smile.

"-Agent Morgan." Greg looked from Morgan to Nick and back again. They would get along smashingly… Morgan was a large man, dark skinned, and not the kind of person to messed with. Greg decided he would stay out of his way.

"-Agent Gideon, who I believe you already know." Grissom and Gideon nodded curtly to each other and Catherine rolled her eyes from behind Grissom.

"-and Dr. Spencer Reid," Hotch finished. Sara stifled her laugh with a cough, earning her a reproachful stare from Grissom. Dr.? Sara thought Greg looked older than him, and that was saying something. He looked fourteen? How in God's name did he get into the FBI? Nick thought the gun he had on his belt looked largely out of place. Greg smiled to himself. Finally he wouldn't be the only one getting picked on!

Grissom smiled as he remembered Spencer Reid from their previous encounter. Well, he looked a tad bit older, he supposed. The eyes maybe…

Spencer just waved shyly from the back of the group and crossed his arms.

"Thank you for coming out so quickly," said Grissom sincerely. He did appreciate it, despite his idea that they couldn't help too much. "This is Catherine Willows, Greg Sanders, Nick Stokes, and Sara Sidle," said Grissom, nodding to each one of his team members.

"Nice to meet you. So, do you mind filling us in on what you have?" asked Hotch. He was definitely ready to get started…

….

"Six bodies, all young women, found dead in the desert eyeless," muttered Dr. Reid, gazing down at the file in his hands, turning the pages one after the other very quickly.

Nick and Catherine stared at him, mouths agape. "Um, can you really read that fast?" said Nick, eyebrow raised. Spencer looked up, realizing that they were watching him.

"Actually, the human mind is capable of processings-" started Reid.

"Yes, he can read that fast," interrupted Morgan, a smile on his face. Spencer blushed and went back to the file.

"Oh, that's impressive," said Catherine, pouring herself some coffee. This team really was something else…

Just then, Hotch and Gideon entered the room, followed by Grissom.

"We decided to do the latest crime scene together," announced Grissom, cringing as he saw Sara's reaction. He shook his head slightly urging her to keep her mouth shut.

"Sara, you will be with Dr. Reid and Greg out by the dump site." Sara glared at Grissom before going to get her gun and badge from her locker.

"Is she okay?" asked Morgan, motioning towards the back of Sara.

"Better than usual, why do you ask?" said Greg, laughing.

"Morgan, you, Emily and CSI Stokes will head over to the latest victim's family. Garcia is waiting for you to call her with something, so we really need something useful," explained Hotch.

"Who's Garcia?" asked Catherine.

"She's our technical analyst back at Quantico," said Morgan, thinking about his Baby Girl.

"Catherine, you will have to find out what kind of gun was used. The bullet we produced was practically destroyed. You and Agent's Morgan and Gideon will go to see the body as well," said Grissom, sighing. It was a long shot, but at least they had some extra hands.

There was an awkward pause before Morgan said, "So, shall we get started?"

The group got up and divided into their teams, ready to start the investigation.

It was going to be a long day. Grissom could tell.

….

_Author's Note:_

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!_

_I'll try to post the next one soon!_

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	3. Chapter 3

Spencer sighed in annoyance. Sara was bugging the crap out of him, with her blatant stares and bossy attitude. Spencer was used to having people dislike the team. It was hard to gain acceptance when the BAU marched into another team's case. But this was crazy…

Sara had taken the liberty of driving. Spencer was shotgun and Greg was in the back, looking way too amused for the situation.

Mercifully, they reached the dumpsite within fifteen minutes. They crossed the police tape and the squad already assembled around it.

Greg was the first to speak.

"The woman's name was Alyssa Powers, age 18, and lived only a few miles out. The vic's only had a couple things in common."

"And what were they?" asked Reid, taking a look around him, quickly putting together a hasty profile.

"Young attractive women, all in the Vegas area, and all were students in either high school or college. Different looks, different schools, different economical statuses; everything is random," said Greg, crossing his arms and following the doctor's gaze wherever he looked, trying to see what Spencer was seeing.

"Random, maybe, to the naked eye, but once we dig a little there will be a connection. There always is," said Reid, not really focusing on the CSI's around him as he spoke.

"Excuse me, Agent," said Sara, avoiding the use of 'Dr.' "-but what exactly are you expecting to find out here?" asked Sara, a little aggravated.

"Sara…" warned Greg, rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't…" said Spencer, confused at her frustration.

"We've gone over every piece of evidence available. Everything needed is in our lab as we speak. So why are we wasting time revisiting the dump site when nothing can be determined from it?"

Spencer raised an eyebrow and answered truthfully. "Actually, a lot can be determined about it."

Greg looked interested while Sara contained herself from rolling her eyes. "And what would that be, Doctor." She said the word mockingly.

Spencer cleared his throat and began. "Well, for one, the way he views women. He sees them as disposable, with little to no respect for them at all. Look around, they are in the middle of the desert, mutilated, and with no signs of care visible. No one would be able to find them out here

"Also, the terrain out here is rough and not easily made by many cars. He probably drives some sort of wilderness truck with specific tires so they won't go flat. No tire tracks were found because of the sand shifting, however. Not many people would have this type of vehicle so he probably uses it for work or some sort of hobby.

"We can categorize our unSub as an organized killer. Everything your lab will find he wants you to find. Hardly any evidence was found because of his specified location to dump the body and his method of killing, which was by strangling them. By using a belt, he gave himself distance from contact with the body. This also shows that he is young and very fit, because choking someone to death is not as easy as one might expect," finished Reid, coughing slightly at the looks on the CSI's faces.

"You can tell all of that by looking at a dump site?" asked Sara skeptically.

"Um, yes," said Reid lamely.

"Awesome," said Greg, looking at Spencer in a whole new light.

_Well, at least one of them likes me, _thought Spencer, cringing under Sara's glare, but refusing to let her see she was having an effect on him. Sighing, Spencer brought out his phone and went to call Hotch.

…..

Nick and Emily stood behind Morgan as he knocked on the latest victim's family's door. A petite blonde woman opened up, eyes red-rimmed from shed tears.

"May I help you?" she asked, her voice thick as she sniffled.

"Mrs. Powers? I'm Agent Morgan from the FBI. This is Agent Prentiss and CSI Stokes. We are here investigating your daughter's case," said Morgan gently.

"FBI?" said Mrs. Powers, shocked.

"We believe that there are other cases linked to your daughter's," said Nick.

"Please, come in then. May I get you anything?" she asked, drawing her sweater tighter across her chest.

"No thank you, ma'am. We would just like to ask you a few questions about Alyssa, if that's alright," said Emily.

"Of course."

"Did Alyssa ever complain about anyone harassing her or following her?" asked Morgan, sitting down across from Mrs. Powers.

"No, never anything like that. Alyssa was well liked, but never had to deal with people like that."

"What about boyfriends? Did Alyssa date anyone recently or did anything end badly?"

"No, no my Alyssa was a shy girl. Always stood in the shadows. Didn't like a lot of attention, if you know what I mean. She had one boyfriend but that was in her sophomore year and it only lasted a month because the boy moved away."

"I understand," said Morgan, nodding.

"What was Alyssa like, personality wise?" asked Emily, looking at picture frames on the walls.

"Well, as I told you, she was shy. Very smart, though, had a 4.0 GPA," said Mrs. Powers proudly, before her face fell again. "She loved to read. Went to the library often and would stay for hours on end. She didn't have very many friends, but she never seemed to mind," she said thoughtfully.

"You said there were other cases, like Alyssa's. How many?" demanded Mrs. Powers.

Nick finally answered, "Six."

Mrs. Powers processed this before asking her next question. "When can I have my baby's body back?"

Nick answered again. "Ma'am, we are trying to get her back to you as soon as possible, but we will need to hold onto her for a while longer if that's okay."

"I-yes, yes that's fine, if it will help," finished Mrs. Powers, giving up.

"Mrs. Powers, do you mind if we take a look in your daughter's room?" asked Emily.

"Yes, it's the third door on the left."

'"Thank you."

The three entered the room and Nick sighed as he saw the pink wallpaper, un-made bed, photos of her family, and the stack of books next to her bed, unread. This girl should be out enjoying her youth, not in a cold morgue.

Derek took a look around the room. There had to be a connection…

"One second, let me call Garcia," said Derek to Nick.

He dialed the number and let it ring once before he heard her voice.

"Congratulations, you have successfully reached the love of your life. How may my beauty service you?" said Penelope brightly.

"Hey Baby Girl, I gotta job for you," said Morgan.

"Anything for you Beautiful."

"I need deep background checks on these girls, cause we are coming up with nada. Just one connection, anything, no matter how small, 'kay?"

"You request, I'll work the magic. I'll have something for you, don't worry your gorgeous little head."

"You're the best."

"And I know it!" Garcia hung up.

"So what now?" asked Nick, staring at Morgan and Emily.

"Now we find the one thing that links them. Can we get a look at the crime scene photos together of the vic's rooms? There has to be something…" finished Derek, still looking around.

"Yeah, sure. I'll call Sara and Greg. I think your Doc's with them. They should be done by now."

"That's good. We'll need Reid for this one."

Just one connection…the rest, they could handle.

…..

_Author's Note:_

_Hey, sorry it took so long to update, but here it is! Hope you enjoyed and that review button is pleading with you to press it, so don't make it sad!_

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	4. Chapter 4

Hotch got a call from Morgan, saying he was still working on the connection between the girls, so Hotch took his spot for the autopsy. Gideon, Catherine and Grissom also accompanied him.

"What's the official cause of death, Doc?" asked Catherine, walking into the cold morgue.

"Well, it was the blood loss that killed her from the bullet wound. However, as you can also tell, there are severe signs of strangulation. It looks like he used a belt, but gave up and settled for the gun. That is the weird part, however," finished the doctor.

"What's so weird about that?" asked Gideon. "It takes a lot of strength to strangle someone. The unSub probably just got tired and fed up."

"Yes, that's probably true. But the past victims have all been strangled, without being shot. Why would your 'unSub' as you like to call it, change his MO?"

Hotch examined the bruising on her neck. "That is odd…" he pondered. "Look at these wounds, though. Their weak and not smooth at all. The unSub seemed to have difficulty with this girl. Can you tell if she fought back?"

"She was unconscious. Head wound hidden under the hair," motioned the doctor, revealing a mass of bloody hair on the back of the head. "Subdued, just like the others. But I think I might have the answer for you."

Grissom eyed the doctor. "And that would be…" He always had a flair for the dramatics, Doc did.

"I found a small blood drop on our vic's neck. I sent it up to trace and it's not Alyssa's, so it's most likely our killer's. Wasn't in the system, however, but it's better than nothing and we're sending the search farther than just Vegas."

"So the killer injures himself," starts Gideon, piecing it together. "Maybe a hand or arm. He tries to strangle her, like he usually does, but his injury prevents him from killing her. Alyssa might start to wake up a bit, try to struggle, so he panics and shoots her instead."

"That's good. He's getting sloppy," said Grissom, eyeing the girl's pale face.

"And now we have some way of identifying him when we see him," said Catherine, looking over at her boss.

Finally, they were getting somewhere.

….

Morgan felt like smacking his head against a wall. They had spent the last hour trying to find ONE LOUSY CONNECTION between the vics. So far, all Morgan could tell was that they liked pink. Not much of a lead…

Of course, it was Reid who found something. "Hey! Wait, this might be something," he said, excited.

While Morgan and Greg grew excited, Sara just rolled her eyes and stood behind the young doctor.

"Look next to their beds, do you see that?" he said, speaking very fast.

"Books, genius. Pretty much everyone has them next to their beds," huffed Sara, eyeing the so-called genius.

"Hmm, really hadn't noticed," said Reid sarcastically and Morgan eyed him. The only time he saw Reid lose his temper was with the whole 'losing his gun' thing years ago.

"Look closer, Sara," motioned Reid. "Look at the authors, to be more exact. They're all 15th century famous writers!" Reid was excited again.

"See? Margery Kempe, Sir Thomas Malory, William Dunbar…they were all well known. These girls all have the same preference in books, maybe that could be some kind of link?" said Reid, looking eager, turning his attention to Morgan.

"How did you know that? About the authors, I mean," asked Greg, still squinting at the picture.

"My mom was a professor of 15th century literature. She used to read that stuff to me when I was little," said Reid, not really paying attention as he pulled out his phone.

"When you were little? Seriously? No wonder you're a genius," laughed Greg. Sara just glowered, but secretly, was a little bit impressed.

Before Reid had the chance to dial, Morgan's phone began ringing.

"Hey Baby Girl, we have a job for you again. I was just about to call you," said Morgan.

"Well, hold your horses Cowboy, because Garcia has an awesome connection that you just might want to hear!" she said and Morgan could picture her smiling.

"Does it have anything to do involving books?"

"Why do you wound me? That was my surprise, dumby! You stink!"

"We still don't know what it is Penelope, so before you go calling me mean names, you still might be able to surprise me," laughed Morgan.

"Humph," huffed Garcia. "Very well. So after checking into their backgrounds, they really couldn't be more different, personality wise, it appears. Two were jocks, one a pianist, two were debate team leaders, and one social recluse, it appears. However, they all went to the same library according to their library cards."

"Library? Which one? Did you do a background search on the employees? Wait, let me put you on speaker," said Morgan excitedly. They could have their first suspect….

"Already ahead of you, Baby. It's called Williams Public Library and it is located—"

"On fifth street, right? Right across from Dales Theater?" asked Reid, interrupting Garcia.

"What is it, National Kill-Garcia's- Bubble Day? You too, Sweet Pea? Don't join Morgan!" exclaimed Garcia.

"Oh, um, sorry. Proceed please," said a blushing Reid.

"Well, as my Junior G-Man so wisely put it, it is indeed located on fifth street. I did a background check on most of the employees that might fit the oh-so-tiny profile you provided me with, and so far, I got nada. I still have a bit to go, though." Garcia was finished, slightly dismayed.

"You're the best, Baby Girl. Keep it up and update, por favor!" said Morgan.

"Humph, yeah, whatever." She hung up.

"Sorry, she's a bit of a drama queen," laughed Morgan.

"So we could tell," said Greg. Sara was staring at Reid again.

"How did you know where the library was?"

Reid looked up, noticing her attention was on him. "Oh, I grew up here before moving away when I went to college. But I still visit because my mom lives here. I used to go to that library when I was younger," he said, looking uncomfortable under the attention.

"Huh," said Sara, but not in a mean way. In more of a…surprised way.

"I'm gonna call Grissom. He's going to want to know about this," said Greg, pulling out his cell.

"Yeah, looks like we're taking a trip down to your favorite library, kid," said Morgan, smiling.

…..

_Author's Note:_

_Hope you liked it! Please Reid (hehe) and Review por favor, as Morgan so kindly put it!_

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Still not owning it….Criminal Minds, that is…_

…_._

Nick and Reid drove to the library while the others went back to the station to check up with Hotch and Grissom. When they pulled into the driveway, something caught Reid's eye.

"Hey, look at that car," said Reid. The car was a large truck with huge tires. Tires that are used in rough terrain…and there was sand on them.

"Yeah, you don't see too many of those in Vegas," joked Nick, looking over to the black truck.

"That's the kind of car we thought our unSub might drive." Reid met Nick's gaze before Nick turned his attention to the brick building in front of him.

"You have a gun, kid," Nick asked.

"Yeah, you?"

"Yeah. Keep it handy. Our guy is here. Should we call in for backup?" asked Nick keeping his eyes peeled.

"The more cops he sees the more likely he is to get nervous and leave before we've had the opportunity to identify him. We can arrest him and hold him for 72 hours, and hopefully by then we'll have enough evidence to hold him or get a confession," said the young agent, opening his door.

The two men walked up the many stairs and into the building. It was exactly how Reid remembered it. The four round tables by the historical fiction section; the chandelier over by the checkout; the shiny floors that made your footsteps ring. He felt as if he still were that twelve year old boy, sitting between the stacks, studying for his senior final exams. It was the one place he felt safe, from the other boys and from his family, especially his father, when he was younger.

"You okay, kid?" asked Nick, noticing Reid's expression.

"Fine," said Reid quickly. "We should see if our guy is an employee, or just a visitor. I'll go give the profile to the woman at the front desk," he said, preparing to leave.

"Hold on there. We should stick together. You go talk to her, I'll keep an eye on the people in here. There aren't too many, so that's helpful."

Reid glanced around and frowned. "Look at this place. It's the perfect place for this guy. The vast majority of people here are young female students, exactly what he looks for. There's only about two guys here."

Suddenly, Spencer's phone began to right.

"Shhhh!" whispered an elderly woman, trying to figure out how to work a computer-contraption.

"Sorry," mouthed Reid, before stepping to the side and looking at the ID. Gideon.

"Gideon, what did you find?"

"Morgan told me where you were. Is there anything there that might point to our unSub?" said Gideon quickly.

"We have a car that matches the profile perfectly, sand on the wheels and all," said Reid, glancing around, making sure nobody heard him.

"The unSub is injured, Reid."

"In what way?"

"We found blood on the vic that wasn't theirs. He gave up his strangling MO because he was injured in some way in his arm or hand. That's why he shot them."

Reid immediately scanned the room. The two young men he saw before looked completely unharmed.

"Be careful, Spencer. Make the arrest and get the hell out of there. This guy is paranoid and will stop at nothing to resist arrest."

"We'll be okay, Gideon. Thanks."

"I'll see you at the interrogation." They hung up. Reid motioned to Nick.

"The unSub has some sort of arm or hand injury. Look for that before anything else." Nick nodded his understanding and the two walked to the front desk.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but do you mind if we ask you some questions," said Nick to the elderly woman in front of him. Her back was turned, but when she faced the men, her eyes grew wide and fell on Spencer.

"Spencer Reid, look at you!" she said, a smile spreading across her face. Reid looked up and smiled shyly in return, finally recognizing her.

"Hi, Mrs. Barett," he said, with a half-wave.

"Look at how tall you are! I haven't seen you since you left for college, my dear." She turned to Nick and said knowingly, "This one is one smart lad. He went to CalTech, did you know that?"

Nick just smiled at Reid's apparent embarrassment. "No I did not, ma'am."

"Umm-hmmm, and FBI, too! A bright future is ahead of this one. Every day, I watched him come in here and stay for hours on end, until closing time." She turned to smile at Spencer. "Spencer, Sweetie, how is Diana? I heard she was still receiving help at the sanit-"

"Yes, yes , she's fine. Thank you," said Reid, quickly, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Do you mind if we ask you a couple questions, Mrs. Barett?" he asked, changing the subject, while Nick looked from the woman, to Spencer and back again, confused.

"What about, Dear?"

"It's about the recent murders, ma'am," said Nick. "We think it's possible that the man responsible might work at this library."

"Here?" said Mrs. Barett, her smile instantly disappearing. "Are you quite sure?"

"Pretty sure," said Spencer. "He's a little paranoid, always thinking people are watching him. He doesn't treat the female employees with respect. He's often late for work. You find he stares at the female students, but is too shy to go and talk to them. He's fit and works out. He drives that large truck out front or something like it. And he might have recently injured his hand or arm."

Throughout the description, Mrs. Barett paled considerably. "Oh my Gosh," she whispered.

"Do you know someone like that?" said Nick gently.

"Samuel Benders," she said quietly. "He stacks books and- and orders them, oh my, did he—he couldn't have, could he?"

"Mrs. Barett, it's alright, calm down. I need to know if Mr. Benders is working today and if so, where he is," said Nick calmly.

"Yes, yes he is. He came in a half hour late and went straight back into the storage room to get the books."

Spencer nodded at Nick to the back room and rested a hand on his gun. "Stay here ma'am," said Nick.

They went into the back and on Nick's signal, rushed into the room. It was clear. Nick turned around to face Spencer behind him.

"He's not here. We should check the rest of the-REID!" he cried, suddenly.

Reid didn't have enough time to react. He felt the cold metal of a gun smack across his head, knocking him down but not unconscious. He reached for his gun, but it was gone, next to Samuel Benders dirty sneakers, out of reach.

"You, put down your gun or the kid gets one through the head," Samuel said to Nick, gun aimed at Spencer, who was having a hard time focusing on the gun in his face. He was seeing double.

Slowly, Nick dropped his gun, and pushed it away with his foot. Finally Spencer was able to see semi-clearly. He felt his heart drop when he saw the larger gun strapped to Samuel's back.

"You two, come with me. NOW!" he roared, grabbing Nick by the collar while still aiming at Reid. Nick looked at Reid, unsure of what to do. Spencer just nodded slowly, telling him silently to do what Samuel said.

They got out of the room and Samuel unstrapped his larger gun and sent four thundering shots up into the roof.

"NOBODY MOVE OR I KILL THE COPS!"

Everyone stayed still.

Spencer just stared at Samuel. Their suspect had just become their unSub.

…..

_Author's Note:_

_Muwahahaha evil unSub! Tell me what you think, I wanna know!_

_My review button is beckoning. It's not nice to ignore it _

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or Criminal Minds. Proceeding now to the story…_

…_._

The stillness in the room only lasted a second before chaos ensued. People were beginning to panic, running in different directions, trying to reach an exit.

But before anyone had the chance to get to a door or window, Samuel let off another couple rounds, causing the people to stop dead in their tracks.

He brought the gun down next to Nick's head. "I SAID STAY STILL! You think I won't do it? I WILL!" As if to prove his point, he shoved Nick onto the hard ground and aimed the automatic weapon around his shoulders right at Nick's abdomen. Nick's eyes grew wide and he turned a stark shade of white. After all the times he had ever been threatened like this, this was by far his worst situation.

"Okay!" cried Reid, trying to pull himself into an upright position without vomiting. His head had a pulse and every time it throbbed, a new wave of pain erupted, causing his vision to sway. "We heard you. You don't want to kill us yet."

The people had stopped.

"Yet!" cried Nick, still on the ground. Whose side was this kid on?

"You kill us now, and you'll never figure out how we found you, how we knew it was you, what mistakes you made." Reid saw the anger flare behind the assailant's eyes. In his mind, he was perfect. He didn't make mistakes.

"And besides, we, that is, Nick and I, aren't here to arrest you," Reid continued. Samuel barked out a laugh, scoffing.

"Oh really, than what were you doing wielding your guns as you came to 'find me'?"

Spencer didn't miss a beat. "We knew you owned a gun, probably several," he said, eyeing Benders automatic. "We didn't want to go in unarmed knowing that you weren't."

Samuel looked curiously from the agent to the CSI. "So why did you want to find me if you didn't want to arrest me? That's what your team wants to do, right?"

"We're profilers, Mr. Benders," said Reid, praying he sounded believable. "We study the behavior of the killers, not arrest them. And what we really wanted to do was talk to you."

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Like I said, we study the behavior. We make our educated guesses, supply them to the police officers, and leave. Once we found out your identity, we couldn't resist coming to meet you in person. What better way to perfect our profile than meeting him in the flesh."

Nick was staring at Reid. He was a smooth liar, he'd give the kid that much. But how could Samuel fall for something like that? It was the biggest load of BS he ever heard in his life!

But Benders began lowering his gun slightly. "What about the CSI? Won't he arrest me?"

"CSI's just look over the evidence, they don't arrest people either," continued Reid, dishing out the lies. "He heard I was coming and was interested as well."

Reid continued with a different tactic. "However, shooting off your gun and holding us prisoner wasn't probably the best idea." Samuel held up the rifle to Spencer's chest instead, wary again. He wasn't going to let these guys pull any tricks on him.

"Oh, and why not, fed?"

"Well, the rest of our teams know that we're here, and someone would have told them they heard gunfire. If you continue to do this, our teams might have no choice but to arrest you, Mr. Benders." Reid eyed the gun warily, remembering the countless times he had been in this kind of situation. But never had he been the one to have to try to talk the unSub out of it.

Samuel just laughed. "That might be true, but they won't risk their pretty little agents getting bullets in the head. Congratulations, you are now the only thing keeping me alive and out of jail."

_For the time being, _thought Nick. He decided that it was best to let Spencer do the talking. But it was true that the teams knew where they were. It would only be a matter of time before they were here.

But what would they be able to do once they got here?

…

"We've got a problem," said a stone-faced Hotch, closely followed by Gideon, to a room full of CSIs and BAU agents.

Hotch grabbed the remote and turned the TV on to the local news where a pretty Asian woman was standing in front of Williams Public Library. The library where Reid and Nick were.

"-complained of gunshots being heard throughout the neighborhood," she began saying. "While it is still unknown who is responsible for the gunfire, we now know that the situation is very serious. It was reported that witnesses saw an FBI agent and CSI enter the building not half an hour ago. Could this be the man who has been committing the recent murders in-"

JJ shut the TV off and stared at the people around her.

Grissom, to the naked eye, seemed relatively calm. But under closer inspection, it could be seen that his fists were clenched and jaw tight. Greg looked as if he had been slapped, while Sara kept opening and closing her mouth, as if she was trying to say something, but words escaped her.

While the BAU team looked just as nervous, they maintained their composure better. Gideon thought of Reid, practically alone with the unSub, but was not hit with a wave a panic that would have engulfed him a couple years ago. Reid's skills of profiling had grown rapidly over that period of time, and while he was still a young profiler, Gideon had faith that he could manage this particular unSub.

That is, at least until the team got there. They began rushing to their cars and speeding into the general direction of the library.

….

_Author's Note:_

_Will get more interesting, promise :)_

_Tell me what you think though; like, love, suggestions, ideas? All are welcome!_

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize_

…

Hothc, Gideon, Morgan, Sara and Grissom all rode in the same car, with Hotch at the wheel. The silence hang thick in the vehicle. No one said anything because they were afraid to mention what might become of their friends and co-workers. If the unSub lost his temper for a moment, if they were too late…

It was Sara who spoke first, about halfway to the library. "What do we do when we get there? We don't want to set this guy off, right?"

"We set up," said Gideon from his position directly behind Aaron. "Get SWAT out here. He's got probably dozens if not more people hostage, not even mentioning a federal agent and CSI. First things first, though, we find a way to communicate with our agent."

"Are you sure he'll be alright in there with that psychopath?" she asked, uncertainly. She didn't like the fact that Nick's life could depend all on what this kid said.

"Reid is a skilled profiler," said Hotch. "He knows what he's doing. We have faith in him and his abilities."

"Yeah, but he's just a kid," said Sara, growing frustrated and ignoring the glare given to her by Grissom.

"Okay, that's enough!" cried Morgan, twisting in his shot gun seat to give her a very direct stare. His eyes were hard when he spoke. "The entire time we have been working this case, which if I remember correctly, _you all_ asked us to, you have done nothing but challenge everything and ream Reid out since he stepped foot in your department."

Sara opened her mouth to retort, but Morgan cut her off, blowing off his pent up steam.

"Now one of our agents, our _friends, _is in a pretty tight spot and I wish I could say he hasn't had to deal with difficult situations before, but that's not the case. He's tougher than he looks, more than you would ever think. Now I would appreciate if for once you would _attempt_ to work with us, because I know you're also concerned for Nick, and maybe in the process we can get both our men out of there safely."

He ended his rant with a well placed glare and Hotch and Gideon didn't chastise him a bit for lashing out. They were both anxious and knew Sara had it coming.

Sara on the other hand, was opening and closing her mouth, looking oddly like a fish out of water, finally shutting her mouth and leaning back in her chair. She knew she had been hard on Spencer, but she just couldn't believe that he was a federal agent, being so young. Therefore, he couldn't be as well prepared for these situations as Agent Hotchner or Gideon, right?

Hopefully, she was wrong. She prayed that Dr. Reid would be able to out of there safely, along with Nick.

…

Spencer watched as Samuel pressed the gun closely to his chest and peer through the window. Reid and Nick had heard the police sirens and squealing of tires, signaling their team's approach.

Reid knew what they were going to do next: 1. Call SWAT. 2. Surround the building. 3. Set up and try to communicate with him. He doubted that Samuel would let them in a fifty meter radius of Spencer. Like he said, they were the only thing standing between Benders and jail time._ Serious _jail time. Like life in prison without parole.

Reid watched as Samuel's face distorted with disgust as he saw the police cars. "I thought you said they didn't want to arrest me!"

Reid had to stop himself from laughing. What did he think was going to happen after murdering all those girls and kidnapping a CSI and FBI agent? "Keeping us hostage is a criminal offense. I work for the FBI, remember? And Nick works for the LVPD. They're just concerned about us."

Samuel looked between the two of them nervously. He was beginning to get anxious, fiddling with his gun and looking at the window expectantly.

"What is that one doing?" he asked Reid, dragging him up forcefully by his hair and shoving him to the window. Reid bit his lip to stop from crying out. His head still stung viciously from the smack Samuel gave him previously.

Reid felt a bit calmer when he saw Jason walking towards the building with a pair of walkie- talkies in his hands. He gently walked up to the locked front door and placed one down on the stair and kept the other, making sure Samuel saw what he was doing.

As Gideon walked back to the team, he briefly made eye contact with Reid, who was still at the window, and nodded encouragingly.

"What is he doing!"

"He wants to be able to communicate with us," said Reid gently. "Know that we're okay."

"He wants to talk me out of keeping you here. He wants me to turn myself in!" cried Samuel angrily.

"He'll try. But don't forget, we can all tell you how we found you, remember? That man there, who just gave you the walkie-talkie? He's the leader of the BAU."

Nick watched from his spot on the floor as Benders eyes traveled to the older man on the other side of the glass. Reid managed to grab his attention with that one.

"You can talk to him, if you just get the walkie-talkie," urged Reid. He would feel a hell of a lot better once he could communicate with Jason.

"No," said Benders simply.

"What?" Reid felt his heart sink.

"I'm not going to get it." He turned to Nick. "You are."

Nick looked up, stunned, head snapping from Reid to Benders and back. Reid nodded slightly, much like Gideon did to him.

"The fed over here might give them a signal or something," said Samuel, waving his head in Reid's direction. "And if I see anything funny out of you, CSI, I will not hesitate to put one of these," he shook the gun, "in your face. Got it?"

Nick nodded. He got up and walked to the door slowly. He passed the other captives, all huddled together. Some cried softly, others just stared at him as he walked by. He nodded reassuringly to a couple of the more upset hostages, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. He was scared too, but he refused to let Benders see it. He'd been in worse situations than this…

He opened the door a tiny bit, just enough to reach his hand through and grasped the device in his hand. He briefly looked through the door and saw SWAT, FBI, and CSI's, all together. _Well, at least they_ _finally managed to work together peacefully, _thought Nick, sarcastically.

Sighing, he closed the door, showed Samuel that he hadn't done anything, and walked back over to Reid, whose eyes looked a little glazed. The kid probably had a concussion…

"Turn it on," said Benders to Nick.

Nick carefully switched it on, watching the red light blink. Then, after a bit of crackling, Jason Gideon's voice came through it and into the library.

"Hello, Mr. Benders."

…

_Author's Note:_

_Ta-da! I haven't updated for a couple days because we took a surprise weekend trip. Sorry!_

_For those of you who don't know, I'm working on another crossover with Criminal Minds and Inception. I would love it if you checked it out! It's gonna be fun and awesome!_

_My review button can predict the future and it says if you don't press it, all the puppies in the world will mysteriously disappear from the face of the Earth, so if you want happiness in the world…._

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: Criminal Minds does not belong to me…_

…_._

"Hello Mr. Benders." Jason's voice was even and smooth, like he was talking to a friend he hadn't seen in a long time. Reid felt a feeling of relief spread through his body, even though he knew his situation was nowhere near good. But just hearing his mentor's voice through the device and knowing that the BAU was on the case made him feel that much better.

Nick, however, was not so convinced. He no longer doubted profiling. No, not after what he saw Spencer was capable of doing. But Benders seemed to have serious issues with authority, especially law enforcement. How would he handle talking to the leader of the BAU?

"What do you want?" asked Samuel roughly, aiming the gun towards Spencer unconsciously. This was _his _boss, so he should take the bullet if anything goes wrong.

"First, I want to know if my agent and CSI Stokes are okay," said Gideon, just as calmly as before.

"Yeah, they're just fine," said Samuel sarcastically, eyeing the two men with distaste.

"May I talk to Dr. Reid?"

Benders wasn't expecting this. His face contorted into a scowl, rage burning in his eyes. They were going to play a trick on him…pull a fast one with one of their funny codes. But he wasn't a moron. He was smarter than that.

"No. Take my work. They are alive."

"Mr. Benders, I do trust you. But it is protocol in these kinds of situations to communicate with our agents in the field. If we don't follow protocol, we might end up in a more serious situation than we already have."

Reid knew that his was complete bull, but pursed his lips and made sure his face was impassive, so as not to give anything away. One thing was certain. Jason Gideon did not trust Samuel Benders.

Samuel turned to scrutinize Spencer, who just shrugged apologetically. "It _is _protocol. It'll be quick. No tricks, I swear."

Samuel's fear of prison overpowered his distrust of Spencer, and he begrudgingly slid the walkie-talkie over to Reid, who gently picked it up and spoke into it. "Gideon?"

Reid could almost hear Gideon's relief through the machine in front of him. "Dr. Reid. Are you hurt in any way?" Gideon was keeping it formal, making it seem more professional and as unemotional as possible.

Reid looked up at Samuel, who nodded his head once, signaling him to speak the truth. "Smack to the head, but I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. CSI Stokes is fine as well." Reid played along.

"Excellent. May I ask how many hostages there are?" Reid looked towards Samuel, whose eyebrows furrowed as he thought. He seemed to decide that there was no hidden intent behind the request, and he ordered Nick to do a head count. A minute later, Nick returned and replied, "23."

"Twenty-three," replied Reid.

A pause. "May I please speak to Mr. Benders, Dr. Reid?" Reid handed the device over to Samuel, who frowned at took it.

"What?"

"Mr. Benders, we would like to request that you release your hostages."

Benders actually laughed. He threw his head back as a loud barking noise escaped from his throat, causing the hostages to either jump or shrink farther back from him. "You think I'm that stupid? I know what will happen the second this place is evacuated. SWAT comes marching on in and I'm behind bars before I can count to three. So no, Agent, I deny your request."

Another pause. Reid knew he was probably talking their options over with Hotch this very moment. Reid knew what he wanted Gideon to do…he just hoped Hotch could convince him.

"That is understandable, Mr. Benders. We have another request for you to consider. Can you release your hostages, but keep CSI Stokes and Dr. Reid with you?" Reid sighed, thanking Hotch silently. Benders had said it himself. They were the only two things keeping him out of jail. Now the innocent bystanders could be released…Reid had been in worse situations. He could handle this…he hoped.

It took over five minutes, during which Jason waited patiently, not interrupting Samuel's train of thought. Finally, he nodded, and then spoke up. "Fine. But we do this my way!"

"Agreed."

…..

Benders way was slow. It required each person to squeeze themselves through the door, opening it just enough so that their bodies could pass through. The second they reached the safety outside, Nick was to close the door immediately, or risk a bullet to his leg.

Reid was positioned on the ground by Benders, but he was tall enough so that he could just see through the bottom of the long glass windows. He watched as each person ran to safety; some crying, some calm, some motioning back towards the library to loved ones who hadn't come out yet.

But they all came out. Slowly, but surely, the retreated to safety.

Benders kept his word. This time.

But Benders was erratic, paranoid, and desperate. There was not telling what he would do next. Jason knew that, which was why he knew it was necessary to evacuate the building in case Samuel decided to shoot off some of his anger. The last thing they needed was a civilian getting shot.

The last person Spencer saw through the window was the elderly librarian. Right before she was escorted away, she turned suddenly and looked straight at Spencer, startling him slightly. She put a hand over her chest and nodded at him slowly, before following the SWAT man to safety.

Now it was only Spencer, Nick, and Samuel left together in the library Reid knew oh-so well.

…..

_Author's Note:_

_Know it's a bit short, but what are ya gonna do?_

_Hope you are enjoying it so far, because I'm enjoying writing it:)_

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


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